Embroidery

Name: Embroidery
ISBN: 9787229135102

廖春妹Chongqing Publishing House · ChinaMar 2020

3.3

Word count: 24K words
Chapters: 18
ISBN: 9787229135102

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Summary

As a material medium, embroidery emerged from humanity's long experience of daily life and gradually became part of everyday material culture. Beyond its practical uses, people's psychological responses, aesthetic sensibilities, and ritual concepts have also found expression through embroidery. Combining the attributes of material culture, institutional culture, and spiritual culture, it may be called embroidery culture. The history of Chinese embroidery culture is a history of humanity creating a uniquely refined material life, and also a history of humanity accumulating profound humanistic meaning and artistic spirit. This book is divided into sections including "An Overview of Folk Embroidery," "The Historical Evolution of Folk Embroidery," "Main Types and Distribution of Folk Embroidery," "Folk Embroidery Techniques and Applications," "Appreciation of Folk Embroidery Works," and "The Protection and Inheritance of Folk Embroidery." By discussing the history of embroidery's emergence, its main regional traditions, and its stitching methods, it presents readers with a relatively complete picture of China's embroidery culture, offering high academic and practical value. The book uses a wealth of exquisite images to showcase the profundity of China's embroidery culture; rich in both text and illustrations, it is well suited as a popular cultural reader.

Editor's review

As a monograph focused on traditional Chinese embroidery techniques, Embroidery offers value far beyond technical presentation. Drawing on her deep academic background and extensive fieldwork experience, author Liao Chunmei constructs a three-dimensional and vivid picture of embroidery culture. The book's most distinctive feature is that it transcends the limitations of conventional craft books, interpreting specific techniques—stitches, patterns, colors—within a broad historical, regional, and folk context, enabling readers to understand the cultural logic and emotional expression behind every stitch.

In terms of structure, the book uses region as its organizing framework, systematically surveying the technical characteristics and stylistic evolution of the four great famous embroideries—Su, Xiang, Yue, and Shu—along with numerous local traditions, with detailed material and clear organization. Particularly valuable is the inclusion of a large number of rare primary-source images, including exceptional historical masterpieces and contemporary innovative works; the images are of high quality and accompanied by professional captions, offering considerable value for appreciation and reference. In her narrative, the author focuses not only on the "inheritance" of techniques but also on exploring pathways for their "activation" in contemporary society, offering many constructive reflections on how traditional craft can be integrated with modern design and the aesthetics of daily life.

For readers, this book is like a key—one that opens the door to a world of exquisite craftsmanship and also leads toward deeper cultural inquiry. It can serve as a desk reference for professional learners seeking systematic knowledge, and is equally suitable for general readers passionate about traditional Chinese aesthetics and craft culture, who will feel in its pages the wisdom and warmth of an Eastern art that "uses thread as ink and needle as brush."

Who it's for

A good fit for

Enthusiasts with a strong interest in traditional Chinese crafts, especially embroidery culture
Students and professionals in art, design, costume, and related fields seeking inspiration and technical reference
Those engaged in research, protection, or promotion of intangible cultural heritage
Readers who wish to deepen their understanding of regional culture and folk art and incorporate it into modern aesthetics of daily life

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners expecting a simple, step-by-step introductory embroidery tutorial
Readers seeking only to browse beautiful images quickly, with little patience for in-depth text

Reading tips

Begin by looking through all the images to build an intuitive sense of the various embroidery styles, then select regions or chapters of interest for close reading
While reading, look up images or videos of related actual works based on the specific patterns or stitches mentioned in the book to deepen understanding
Treat this book as a starting point and further explore the author's other works or the related literature cited in the book to build a more complete knowledge system

About the publisher

Chongqing Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Chongqing Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for its titles in the humanities, social sciences, literature and arts, with about 940 books in its catalogue. Its publishing areas cover world history, science fiction, foreign literature, architecture and philosophy. Representative titles include Xiang Da's A History of Communications Between China and the West, Liang Sicheng's Rules of Qing-Style Construction, Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest and III: Death's End, Ann Rand's The Fountainhead (25th Anniversary Edition), and Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. Its authors include Xiang Da, Liu Cixin, Liang Sicheng and Ann Rand. The press has developed distinctive strengths in historical source editing, the introduction and creation of science fiction, the translation of foreign literature, and architecture and philosophy titles, balancing scholarly value with general readership. As public information is limited, this profile outlines its publishing directions based only on the books in the catalogue.

版权信息
民间刺绣概述
民间刺绣的历史沿革
民间刺绣主要种类与分布
一民间刺绣种类分布表
二中国刺绣各地域绣种分布示意图
三典型绣种举例——中国四大名绣
民间刺绣工艺与应用
一刺绣介绍
二针法技艺发展
三刺绣工艺与应用
民间刺绣作品赏析
一服饰用品
二配饰用品
三家居用品
民间刺绣的保护和传承
一民间刺绣的历史与现状
二民间刺绣的保护和传承

FAQ

Is this book an embroidery technique tutorial?

Not entirely. The book's core is a systematic introduction to the cultural background, artistic characteristics, and historical evolution of embroidery across China. While it touches on technical explanations, its depth and scope far exceed an ordinary step-by-step tutorial, with a stronger emphasis on cultural interpretation and artistic appreciation.

How clear and high-quality are the images in the book?

The book features a large number of high-resolution color images, including full views of works and close-ups of key details. The printing is excellent and effectively conveys the colors, textures, and exquisite craftsmanship of the embroidery, offering high value for viewing and reference.

Can readers with no embroidery background understand this book?

Yes. The author writes in an accessible style and explains technical terms in plain language. Readers need no hands-on experience to appreciate the charm of embroidery art and understand its cultural significance through the text and images. The book is better suited as a cultural primer or in-depth appreciation guide.

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About the author

廖春妹 Author

Liao Chunmei: publicly available information is limited. At present, it is known only that one of her works is held in the Chinese book database, with the representative work being Embroidery, commonly classified under culture. Based on the available information, her writing centers on traditional handicrafts, using embroidery as a specific craft to enter the subject, and thus belongs to cultural writing. Since the database provides no more than the title and category, her nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, and writing career cannot be confirmed, nor is it appropriate to speculate extensively about her creative life. What can be established is that her name is associated with cultural writing on the theme of embroidery; such works generally address readers interested in traditional crafts and folk culture and serve to introduce the craft and spread cultural knowledge. Given the materials currently available, any account of her life and overall body of work must stop here, and readers who wish to understand her writing style and specific content still need to read her work directly.